To improve performance, you must measure it, but measuring alone does not necessarily lead to improvements. You must take action. Last month’s Methods discussed tools to measure and understand performance in production plants. This column examines the application category focused on taking actions that improve plant outcomes: manufacturing execution systems (MES) or manufacturing operations management (MOM).
If the products described last month are the dashboard for production, MES/MOM applications are the controls—steering wheel, gas, brake, clutch, and global positioning system. Manufacturers use MES/MOM to control production operations across one or multiple plants. These applications help enforce procedures, deliver operator guidance to eliminate errors, enable operator-level decisions that account for the larger context, and automate track-and-trace and related recording tasks.
Many companies have implemented MES/MOM to gain compliance information or to fill information holes in their supply chain and product lifecycle management. However, the benefits are greater for those that use it to streamline plant operations and make activities more predictable. Automating what are often paper or spreadsheet order tracking and operator instructions can create a knowledge base from which companies can identify and recommend—and even enforce—best practices.
The MES/MOM category is vast, with too many options to list; the Logica MES Product Survey includes 58 products. Here are some subgroups and offerings within them: